“Ridin’ Down the Highway” - Reflections on the Trajectories of Women Professors in Academia

Abstract

The meaning of career success has been researched in diverse settings and time frames. Inquiries addressing gender find that women evaluate their success in distinct ways, which tend to be different from those used by males (Dyke & Murphy, 2006). Research also demonstrates that academic women struggle to perceive themselves successful using the standard social criteria (Hoskins, 2010, 2012), a struggle that is even harder in predominantly male areas, which have rites, symbols and rhythms not build by/for women. This situation may lead to an undervaluation of women’s success in academia, related to the idea of partial success, in which objective success implies failures, drawbacks or negative consequences to other dimensions of women's lives. Bearing this in mind, my purpose is to better understand how academic women perceive their success in accounting academia in Brazil, a predominantly male area. In order to attain this goal, I examine trajectories of four female successful accounting professors in Brazil. I used a qualitative approach based on in depth interviews. My analysis allows to conclude that, to the same extent they are successful considering the so-called objective success criteria (Hoskins, 2010), by deeply examining barriers and boosters they faced during their journey, we realize the cost paid utter to a “long way to the top” but the compensations make possible “ridin’ down the highway.” More importantly, specific policies and actions would help to change the current situation by reducing costs or challenging traditional criteria used to evaluate success.